ForbesLife Travel Guide 2017: The Hottest New Hotels of the Year

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This story appears in the February 28, 2017 issue of Forbes.
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Now is a great time to leave home. On top of all the usual reasons to travel, there's a world of exciting hotels opening this year. Some bring new luxury to destinations (like Madagascar) that had been seriously lacking in comforts. Others bring new ideas about luxury—simplicity, unexpectedness (like a neo-ryokan in the South Pacific)—to destinations that had already reached the pinnacle. And a number of classic hotels are finishing up major, multiyear renovations that will reinvent them and easily exceed the amenities at all those sassy upstarts. Here's what's all over the map in 2017.

AFRICA

Miavana, Madagascar Until recently, accommodations on the wildly biologically diverse island--home to nearly 12,000 plant species and untold numbers of animals (more than 600 discovered since 1999 alone)--were limited to fairly rustic eco-lodges and no-frills hotels.

This year, they're leapfrogging standard-issue five-star style with the opening of the unabashedly over-the-top Miavana, the latest project from the people behind the ultraluxurious North Island in the Seychelles. Located on the sea-life-rich Nosy Ankao off the main island's northeast coast, the 14-room resort, which opens in April, will be reachable only by helicopter. ($2,500 per person, per night; timeandtideafrica.com)

The Silo

The Silo, Cape Town One of the most anticipated urban hotel openings of 2017, the Silo occupies an actual grain silo on the V&A waterfront.

Reinvented by Heatherwick Studio, the structure will house the much-buzzed-about Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which opens later this year on the lower floors, and a 28-room hotel on the upper levels. Designed by Liz Biden of South Africa's Royal Portfolio (Royal Malewane, La Residence), the hotel (which opens in March) has a modern feel and arresting views from its bulging geometric windows. A rooftop pool, a lounge and a bar round out the pleasures. (From $900)

Jabali Ridge, Tanzania The soulful safari company Asilia is continuing its move in a luxury direction with the opening of Jabali Ridge in September, the first proper safari lodge in Ruaha National Park--Tanzania's biggest, most wildlife-rich park that you've probably never heard of.

(Expect to encounter very few other Land Cruisers, as hardly anyone visits.) Along with sublime creature comforts--ten large, stylish rooms with beautiful weathered-timber furnishings, an infinity pool and a spa--the lodge promises to maintain Asilia's tradition of authenticity with top-flight guides and meaningful interactions with local communities. (From $750 per person, per night)

ASIA

Hoshinoya Bali, Indonesia Japan's Hoshinoya hotels are some of the country's most upscale escapes. Now that company is taking its refined aesthetic and Far Eastern sensibility to the Pakerisan River Valley in Bali, near the spiritual center of Ubud.

It hired local master builders to construct the 30 ryokan style villas with tatamis and shojis and intricately carved walls. Each room opens out to a semiprivate pool whose temperature changes throughout the day, but perhaps the resort's most inviting space is the Café Gazebo perched on stilts above the green jungles below. And its tastiest is the restaurant, which marries Balinese flavors and Japanese techniques. (From $700)

Rosewood Phuket, Thailand Among Rosewood's many openings and updates (including a grand renovation of Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands), this property (which opens in the spring) is its first resort in Asia.

On the edge of Emerald Bay in the south of Phuket, one of the few relatively undeveloped beachfront spots left on the island, the resort was built around 150 banyan trees, which were left standing where they were or transplanted to preserve them. The 71 villas are enormous--starting at 1,300 square feet--and have retractable walls to maximize the sea and jungle views. The four restaurants range from rustic Thai seafood on the beach to a refined bistro, and the spa has six villas, one of which has a Watsu pool, and its own garden for flowers and herbs to be used in treatments.

The Strand, Yangon Built in 1901, this grande dame property near the bank of the Yangon River--developed by the hoteliers behind Raffles in Singapore--was looking her age. No longer.

A major renovation paid respectful homage to her colonial history while bringing this Myanmar hotel firmly into the 21st century. The craftsmen preserved the original chandeliers, lacquerware, and marble and teak flooring in the public spaces and 31 suites while adding contemporary updates like softer textures and a more inviting color palette. The air-conditioning, sound systems and communications channels have all been upgraded. The staff was retained during the closure, keeping the high level of service intact. (From $335)

SOUTH AMERICA

Palácio Tangará, Brazil European panache is landing in Brazil with the opening of this Oetker Collection hotel in São Paulo.

Along with a terrific location in Burle Marx Park (one of the loveliest patches of green space in the megalopolis), the hotel has 141 handsome guest rooms with terraces overlooking nature, a lovely spa with an indoor pool and a garden, and the first South American outpost from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. (From $450)

Awasi Iguazú, Argentina The intimate Awasi lodges in Chilean Patagonia and Atacama Desert are best in class. This 12-room hideaway promises a threepeat. Built on stilts over the jungle, each villa has a plunge pool and comes with its own guide and four-wheel-drive vehicle. Renowned biologists help develop excursions.

EUROPE

Hôtel Lutetia, Paris A three-year renovation has preserved the historic frescoes, gilding and moldings while modernizing this classic Left Bank hotel, opened in 1910 for important clients of the nearby Le Bon Marché department store.

It was later a gathering place for artists and thinkers, a space for James Joyce to write Ulysses , and home to Picasso and Matisse. The celebrated architecture firm of Jean-Michel Wilmotte oversaw the updates to the 190 rooms. The Jazz Bar and an expanded (and doubly high-ceilinged) Lutetia Brasserie both remain and will be joined by a dramatic new internal courtyard for alfresco dining and one of Paris' largest hotel spas. (From $740)

The company is rebranding a flagship property of its Portuguese sister hotel brand, Tivoli, and upgrading it to reflect a more international sensibility and sophistication--just in time for a new set of travelers to explore its sandy Atlantic beaches. Additions include luxurious family suites, an updated spa and Anantara's signature Dining by Design program, in which staff orchestrate private, romantic dinners at spots all over the property. (From $240)

The 1922 Grade II-listed Beaux Arts building designed by Sir Edwin Cooper was the former headquarters of the Port of London Authority. Original features like detailed plasterwork and wood carvings grace the 100 guest rooms. But there's more than classic architecture going on here. The spa pays homage to London's ancient Roman history with two pools and a hammam, and three-Michelin-star chef Anne-Sophie Pic oversees one of the two restaurants. (From $540)

Adare Manor, Ireland Following the largest restoration project of its kind in Ireland, Adare Manor (opening in September) is reemerging as a fully regal residence.

The designers have added a spa, a swimming pool, a wing of guest rooms and a Tom Fazio-designed golf course on the 842-acre estate. As the new owners also manage Sandy Lane in Barbados, it's a good bet they'll get the service right, too. (From $340)

U.S.

Hotel Figueroa, LA Built in 1926, this downtown hotel (opening in April) was once a hub for LA's intelligentsia. Now DTLA is booming and the owners have completed a major renovation of the Figueroa, poised to become the new center of east-side cool--one that's artsy and design-forward without being intimidating.

Along with 268 guest rooms and suites marked by stylish details like blackened steel, brushed brass and bespoke wallpaper, it will have two restaurants from four-time James Beard nominee Casey Lane and four bars, including a reservations-only bartender's table with drinks by Dushan Zaric of the New York cocktail cathedrals Employees Only and Macao Trading Co. Works by L.A. artists adorn the walls; an artist-in-residence program is in place. (From $309)

The Whitby Hotel, New York City Firmdale Hotels is bringing Kit Kemp's colorful, mixed-pattern whimsy to Midtown Manhattan in February.

Just off Central Park, the Whitby, the group's second hotel in New York, has 86 individually designed bedrooms, each with its own color scheme. All have floor-to-ceiling windows, and many have terraces. As with Firmdale's first New York property, the popular Crosby Street Hotel, a 130-seat cinema will screen films for guests and the public. (From $795)

W Las Vegas This sleek new hotel-within-a-hotel occupies a piece of the SLS resort and is distinguished by W details like a high-energy WET rooftop pool, a 24-hour gym and a Living Room meant to bring hotel guests and visitors together.

The rooms are designed by Philippe Starck (in collaboration with Gensler), with faux frescoes, peekaboo showers and large bedside mirrors. The signature suite (designed by Lenny Kravitz) is nearly 2,400 square feet with an oversize bathtub and mountain views. (From $189)

CARIBBEAN

Villa Marie Saint-Barth The mostly alpine hotels of Jocelyne Sibuet have a cult following in her native France, where she's known as the Gallic Martha Stewart. Now Sibuet is bringing her breed of casual elegance to her 13th hotel (her second on a beach and first outside continental France).

The St. Barth hotel, on a hillside above Colombier Beach and Flamands Bay, is more relaxed than many of the island's resorts and undeniably cheerful, with lots of pineapple patterns and a playful parrot motif (and two live ones by the pool). The 21 colonial-style villas and bungalows are decorated in a way that doesn't shy from bright color, exuberant patterns or contrasting textures. There is a two-room spa that uses Sibuet's signature products, an extensive rum bar and an excellent restaurant continuing the legacy of Francois Plantation, a 25-year institution in this location. (From $530)

Sailrock Resort, Turks and Caicos While Grace Bay has been taken over by high-rise hotels, South Caicos is still relatively unspoiled--and it's near the third-largest coral reef in the world.

The channel separating it from other islands is full of rays, turtles, dolphins and migrating humpback whales. Along with a residential development, the resort includes lavish ridgetop suites and beachfront villas (up to four bedrooms) that are just steps from the Atlantic. Both offer kitchens or kitchenettes and are styled with island details like wicker chairs and an abundance of glass. The villas have private pools, patios and garden showers. More restaurants and a spa are in the works. (From $400)

I've been a travel writer and editor for 15 years – including several as a senior editor at ForbesLife – and I've written about more than 600 luxury destinations and hotels in 88 countries (and counting). I know the difference between what’s merely expensive and what deserv...